Spring-wheel.



PATENTED MAY 28, 1907.

J. W.'GO0PER. SPRING WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 9, 1907.-

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

' avwanl oz PATENTBD MAY 23, 1907.

3 SHEET8SHEET 2.

. PATENTED MAY 2a, 1907.

J. W. COOPER. SPRING WHEEL. V Arrmcmion FILED JAN. 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Elvwentoz v/ 14/. Cooper W in use:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed January 9,1907. Serial No. 351,661.

Patented May 28, 1907.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, JOHN W. COOPER, a

' citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Im rovements-in Spring-Wheels, of which the fo lowing is a s ecification.

This invention contempl dtes certain new and useful improvements in that type of wheels which de end for their resiliency upon a series of coile springs interposed between the felly and the tire, and the primary Object of my invention is to 'rovide a wheel of this e which will embo y characteristics of duility, simplicity of construction ease with which the arts may be assembled anddisassembled, ightness and extreme resiliency -without the disadvantageous features that provided with are inherent in resilient wheels pneumatic tires. V

With this and other objects in view as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain con structions, arrangements and combinations of the parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended clalms.

Reference is to be had to the accompanyin drawings, in which:

1 ure- 1 is .a side elevation of a spring whee embodying features of my invention, parts being broken out to illustrate the inner construction; Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view-through the rim of the wheel;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinalsectional view of a portion of the wheel rim; Fig. 4 is a detail perspectlve view of one of the rim plates de- ,t1ached; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view 1 lustrating certain modifications hereinafter specifically referred to; and, Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view illustrating other modifications.

" Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all'the views the drawings by the same reference characters. r

Refer'ringto the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the hub of a wheel, 2 the spokes thereof, and 3 the folly.

4 designates a series of plates that are pro- "vlded with longitudinal recesses in their inner faces so as to produce two-side flanges which are adapted to embrace the side edges of the felly, as best seen in Fig. 2. Each of theplates 4 is provided on its outer side or "55.

face witha boss 7 which is preferably hollow.

Coiled springsfiare mounted to fit with their inner ends around the respective bosses 7 on the platesA and the outer ends of these springs are designed to be retained in place by means of shoes 9 which 'are provided 1n their inner faces with recesses 10, preferably circular, in which the outer ends of the springs fit. In addition to the recesses 10, each of the shoes 9 is provided with a central opening 1 1 extending therethrough and reinforced by a small boss, as shown, and each shoe is also provided with outwardly extending side flanges 12 that slo e outwardly or are beveled on their inner si es as shown.

13 designates a tire which is of the cushion type and is provided with a centrally cored opening 14 continuing throu hout its entire extent. The tire 13 is pre erably endless, and to secure the tire to the wheel in a manner to insure against-its accidental dis lacement, I provide a series of transverse y extending bars 15 which are embedded at their ends within the tire on opposite sides of the opening 14 and which are vulcanized in the tire and are provided at their ends with apertures 17 through which the rubber may extend in order to firmly secure these cross bars within the tire body. The bars 15 extend across the opening 14, as shown, and are provided within the opening with screw threaded apertures designed to receive bolts 18 pro-.

jecting outwardly through the. openings '11 of the shoes 9 so as to securely attach-the cross bars to the said shoes and thereby hold the tire firmly in place.

In connection with the springs, the tire and .the other parts before described, I provide side plates 19 that are adapted to inclose all of the working parts of the tire, as shown. These-side plates are secured to the opposite sides of the folly 3 by means of the bolts'20 and are also reinforced at their outer edges by means of bolts 21 which extend between every two adjacent springs. edges of the side plates 19' are provided with inwardly facing shoulders 19, and inter-" posed between the outer edges of the side- The outer 19 to limit the outward movement of the tire with respect to the-telly. It is proposed to make the plates 4 and the shoes 9 of aluminium or otherilight 'metal' and in order to obtain the desired wearing ijii alitie's for the opposing plates 4.

tire, the wear, plates 22 are provided to receive the abrasive wear consequentupon the action of the tire; The wear'plates may be formed of any combination metal suitable for this purpose, andare preferably formed with a series of recesses'22 to lighten them and reduce the area of contacting surface.

From the foregoing descrlption 1n connection with the accompanying drawing, it is e is pressed inwardly against the action of the springs and will receive all the wear consequent uponthis action and that said plates will also limit the outward movement of the .tire when it is pressed outwardly, owing to the engagement of said wear-plates with theinwardly facing shoulders 19 of the side plates 19.

' Fig.' 5 of the accompanying drawings illuss-trates amodification which is designed particularly to relieve'the shoulders at the outer edges of the side plates from constant wear and. strain of the outer sides of the wear the wheel together.

-link boltsplates or shoes and also for the purpose of screwing up or pulling the springs together, so as to increase their. tension when putting From this view of the drawings, it will be seen that the cross bars 15 are embedded within the tire 13 and that they have openings to receive the bolts 18. In this modification, the bolts 18 are formed as screw threaded integral extensions on the outer ends of open links or frames 23. These links 23 extend through the central openings 11 of the shoes 9. and are provided with shoulders 23 which face inwardly and are adapted to abut against the walls of the openings 11. The links 23 extend inwardly from the shoes 9 into the circle of the respective springs 8, as clearly illustrated in the drawing. The inner ends of the links 23 are formed with openings through which headed 24 project, and have free movement', the outward relative movement of the pafts being limitedby the heads 25 of said 0 ts. plates 4* into the felly 3 and are be low at theirinner ends and screw threaded as indicated to receive tension bolts 26 which extend inwardly through the felly as'shown and into the hollow threaded-inner ends of the link bolts 24'. l ,In this modification, as in the other form, the side plates. (designated 19' are provided at their outer edgeswith inwardly facing shoulders 19. In this modification, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the wear plates are carried by the side plates-'19":

against the flange 30 of the shoe.

Thebolts 24 extend throu h the' From the description of this modification, in connection with Fig. 5 of the drawings, it is evident that the tension bolt 26 may be manipulated to draw'the link inwardly and in so doing to draw the shoe 9 inwardly so as to give an initia tension to the spring 8 beyond its normal tension, when putting the parts of the wheel together. It is also evident that by drawing the link 23 inwardly with pressure against the shoe 9, constant wear andstrain upon the shoulders 1!) will be avoided and the rubber tire will he at all times securely held to the folly of the wheel or to the steel tire 27 which may he shrunk around the felly 3. As the tire is pressed inwardly by contact with the ground to compress the springs 8, it is evident that the inner ends of the link 23 will slide relatively to the link bolts 24 and that the outward movement of the parts is at all times limited by the connection between the parts 26, 24, and 23.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. (i, the shoe 9 is provided with a centrally threaded extension 9, and within the outer end of each spring is an interiorly threaded collar 28 adapted to be screwed upon the oxtension 9 until its outward flange 29 abuts The collar 28 is provided with a series of o )enings 31 for the reception of a rod or similar tool, so that by simply unscrewing the collar, the shoe Q and the tire will be pushed up and the parts extended, and the wheel always maintained perfectly round, should the spring settle.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: i

1 In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a felly, a series of plates secured thereto and provided on their outer sides with seats for ielical springs, springs seated at one end upon the outer sides of said plates, shoes provided in their faces with recesses into which. the outer ends of the springs fit, said shoes being alsoprovided with central openings and outwardly extending side flanges, a tire provided wit-h a central opening and em edded cross bars extending across said opening, fastenings extending through said cross bars and the openings of the shoes whereby to secure the cross bars to the shoes and hold the tire between the side flanges of the shoes, side plates inclosing the shoes, the springs, and the first named plates, and wear plates interposed between the side edges of the .shoes' and the said side plates, as and for the purpose set forth.

'2. In a wheel, the combination with the folly, of'a series of plates secured to the outer face of the felly, a series of helical springs mounted at one end upon plates, shoes into which the other ends of said springs fit, saidshoes being provided with side flanges and with wear plates secured to the outer edges thereof and also formed with central- .0 enings, a 'tireadapted to fit between the e de flanges of saidshoes, a series of cross bars embedded in the tire, the tire being pro vided with an opening and the cross bars extending across said-opening, bolts extending throughthe 0' enings of the shoes and hav-' in-g ascrew t readed engagement with the cross bars, and side plates secured at their inner edges to opposite sides of the folly and provided at th elr'outer' edges with inwardly.

carried'by' the outer ends of said springs, a tire adapted to rest in said shoes, a series of cross bars embedded in the tire, and means for securing saidcross bars to the said shoes.

- :4 In a spring wheel, the combination with the folly of a series of helical springs, shoes carriedby theouter ends of sald springs, a

tire'adapted to rest in. said shoes, aseri'es of cross bars embedded'in the tire, bolts con nected 'tosaid cross bars, links connected to said bolts and mounted to slide through the said shoes and provided withshoulders limitingtheir inward movement-With res act to the shoes, link boltswith which sai links have a relatively 'slidable movement, and

means for securing the said bolts to the inner rim or felly of the wheel.

' 5. In a spring wheel, the combination of a series of helical springs, an inner and an outer rind between which said springs are in-' terposed, said outer rim consisting of .a plural-ityof shoes provided with central openings, links extending through said openings and having a slidable movement relative to the shoes, means for limiting the relative inward movement of the iinkswith respect to the shoes, a tire mounted in said shoes and having operative connection with the links,

link bolts having a relatively slidable engagement with the links, and tension bolts extending through" the inner rim and connected thereto, and having an adjustable connection with said link bolts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN W. COOPER.

Witnesses: v

THOMAS H. KEENAN, OLIVER E. 'BENNETT. 

